Changed
by trekker4life
Summary: Oneshot sequel to Inuyasha’s Decision. For Kagome, four years have passed since she left the Feudal Era and Inuyasha behind. Can she find a new life, a new love, among her fellow college students? ?Kag. NOT entirely a college fic!


_**Hi all!**_

**_I gave this idea some thought and decided to do it. Some of you may remember my one-shot _Inuyasha's Decision_, a songfic based on Evanescence's _My Immortal_. Well, some of you who reviewed suggested I make a sequel and turn it from an InuKik fic to an InuKag one. If you look at my profile, you'll see I'm a definite InuKag fan, so I decided to take their suggestion. I apologize if some of the ideas seem a bit farfetched, but bear with me, okay? If you haven't read _Inuyasha's Decision_, I ask that you do so before reading_ Changed_ – if only to understand the second part._**

**_Disclaimer: (I hate typing these things and thus I never remember to do them….) I own no part of the series _Inuyasha_ or its characters. I simply place the preset identities in new situations to explore unknown territory emotionally. In other words, I enjoy torturing them. ._**

_**Trekker**_

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_**Changed**_

**A one-shot sequel to _Inuyasha's Decision_**

The alarm buzzed _way_ too loudly in the girl's opinion. She reached out a slim arm from under the covers and hit the 'off' button with a slam of her hand. Blinking her eyes, she sat up and yawned, not wanting to get up. Unfortunately, she had classes today. Today! Of all days! Looking over at her wall calendar beside her desk, her eyes went straight to today's date, circled in black.

Four years.

It was four years today that Higurashi Kagome left the Sengoku Jidai and everything – _everyone_ – there behind for good. Just shut the door on an adventure that had lasted for 3 years of her life. She was twenty-one now; her twenty-second birthday was in a few months – it would mark seven years since she had first learned of the world beyond the well. But as she had to keep reminding herself, that was in the past.

Miraculously, when she returned, she was able to recover her studies enough to graduate. Her grades weren't good enough to allow her to go anywhere other than the local community college, but she was fine with that. She preferred to stay at home on the shrine's grounds rather than live on-campus at some high-level four year school. Today was the first day of the fall semester of her last year. She had decided that with this being her last year, she'd step a bit out of her comfort zone and have some fun – she signed up for an acting class. It was her second and last class of the day, but the problem was she had to get up _now_ to make it to her _first_ class on time….

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When Kagome arrived for her acting class, she found she was one of the first students there. Within five minutes, however, the rest of the class arrived and the teacher, Takumi-sensei, began her lesson. After the customary start of term housekeeping details, she gave the class their first assignment. "Please pair up and find out three things about the other person." She paused in her instruction long enough to write down those three things on the blackboard behind her.

_1) Name. 2) Where they grew up. 3) One unique thing about them._

Takumi-sensei continued. "Once each pair has had a few minutes to find out this information and get acquainted, each of you will come up in your pairs and introduce each other to the class." Kagome reached down into her bookbag – a new blue one – to grab a pen to take notes with, coming back up only to come face-to-face with a silver belt buckle. She jumped, startled. "Sorry 'bout that," came an even baritone voice, evidently the one the buckle belonged to. "Didn't mean to scare you. Just was curious if you wanted to pair up." Kagome looked up to his face. "Uh, sure," she said.

The boy dropped down in the chair next to her, propped his head in his hand, and said, "You first." She blinked, then spoke. "Okay. My name is Higurashi Kagome, I've lived in the Tokyo region all my life, and I guess the unique thing about me would be that I live on my family's shrine with an over five-hundred year old tree." The boy just raised an eyebrow. Kagome started to blush; he had been staring at her the entire time she had been speaking. "Your turn now," she said.

The boy sat up a bit straighter and started to speak. "My name is Uniy Sashaand I was born in Eastern Europe, but I grew up nearly my entire life here in Japan. The unique thing about me is that I'm an albino, but for some reason, the mutation didn't affect all of me."

Kagome cocked her head in silent question and Sasha explained. "Most albinos have very pale – almost white, really – hair, really weak eyesight, and extremely sensitive skin. But me? Heh, I got the hair mostly. My eyes aren't really weak, just a bit sensitive and they're this really weird color. My skin doesn't seem to have been affected at all. It's as normal as anyone else's."

Kagome took a second look at Sasha. It was all true, she realized. His hair was indeed white – and what a white! It seemed to be a brilliant titanium white; it nearly had a metallic sheen to it, like it was dusted with silver or something. His skin was actually tanned slightly, like he had been out at the beach that summer. But his eyes…his eyes were what really caught her attention. Behind his small, squarish, and lightly tinted glasses, his eyes were a beautiful golden yellow.

The eyes...the skin...the hair...

"Inuyasha?" Kagome whispered, not daring to believe her eyes. Sasha looked at her in surprise. "Uh, did you just call me a dog-demon?" Kagome shook her head, clearing the vision of times past. "No, sorry, nothing like that. You just…you reminded me of someone I used to know, a long time ago." Sasha just shrugged as if to say 'Alright, whatever you say.'

The teacher soon called each pair up to the front of class and had them introduce each other. After that, class was over, so the students started to file out. Kagome stood at her chair for a moment, trying to decide if she should follow her impulse or not. _Ah, to hell with it..._

"Sasha! Wait up!"

She had to nearly yell to get him to hear her; he was one of the first ones to get up and thus was nearly out of the room already. Grabbing her bag, she slung it over her shoulder while running up to him. He heard her – she saw his head turn in her direction – but he kept walking. _Ya could at least slow down, ya know!_ she thought. While four years had added a few inches to her height, she was still only about 5'6" to his 6', 6'2", so regardless of actual height, his legs were longer than hers, dammit!

She caught up with him just outside of the classroom. He finally stopped and turned to look at her. "So, what's up?" he asked. "Uh…" Now she wasn't so brave. "Spit it out already," he said. "It can't be that hard." Kagome swallowed. "Ok, um, this is my last class for the day, and if it's yours too, then I was wondering if you'd like to or want to or are able to go grab a bite to eat?" Sasha thought for a moment, then spoke. "Sure, why not?" "Great!" she replied, smiling.

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A few months had passed since that first 'bite to eat.' Kagome and Sasha continued to hang out together after each class, quickly becoming great friends, beyond just the ordinary classmate friendship. One late fall afternoon, a couple of weeks after Kagome's birthday, the two of them walked into the local fast-food restaurant they frequented.

After ordering their food, Sasha stayed at the counter to wait for it while Kagome went to find them a pair of seats. Spying an open table for two, she was making her way around the other tables and chairs when she heard her name called. "Kagome!" She turned around to see her old high school friends Eri, Yuka, and Ayumi. "Hey guys!" she said, smiling. "It's great to see you! I thought you were at the University."

"We are," said Yuka. "But we're home on break," finished Ayumi. "Hojou's here, too," added Eri. "Yeah, I'm here – do you need something?" came a new male voice. Kagome looked up to see Hojou standing right beside her, holding a tray full of food. Despite the late growth spurt Kagome had hit, Hojou had hit one himself in their sophomore year of high school, meaning that he was still taller than she was. Looking down, he saw Kagome standing there.

"Oh, hey, Higurashi," he said, stepping around her to set down the tray and sit down. "It's great to see you!" "Yeah," said Kagome. "It's good to see you, too. All of you." "Hey, Kagome!" Kagome turned around yet again to see that Sasha had come up beside her this time, holding the tray with their food on it. Eri squealed. "Ooh, Kagome!" "Who's this?" asked Yuka. "Oh, this is my friend," she said, making the introductions. "Uniy Sasha. We met in a class we share."

"Well, that's good!" said Yuka, smiling broadly, as were the other two girls. "Huh?" said Kagome, a bit confused as to why they were suddenly more cheerful than normal. "It means you're over that Inuyasha guy, right?" said Eri, hopefully. "Kagome," said Ayumi. "I know you say you loved him once, and I guess the guy was pretty cute, but after what he did…well, it's good to see you moving on."

Kagome was silent for a moment, slightly taken aback. _Is that truly what they think?_ Thinking for a moment, she answered them. "You guys, listen, no matter what has happened in the…past, a part of my heart will _always_ belong to him. Sasha is a friend, a good and true friend to me and I happen to like spending time with him – I can only hope those feelings are reciprocated... Nevertheless, it will be my decision, and _mine alone_, as when or even _if_ I will be 'moving on,' as you put it."

Finished with her small rant, Kagome turned on her heel, and walked to a table completely on the other side of the room from where her old friends were sitting, with Sasha following. The two of them sat down; Sasha set the tray on the table between them. Looking at the girl across from him, Sasha saw that Kagome had her head down, seeming to try and get a hold of herself. "You ok, Kagome?" he asked gently.

Kagome tossed her head, shaking the hair out of her eyes, and spoke. "Uh, yeah. I-I'm okay. What they said just reopened some old wounds that I thought had been closed for good." Sasha began to fidget a bit. "Is this a bad time, then? 'Cause I can always eat on the walk home." Kagome smiled a bit at Sasha's discomfort. "Ilie, ilie, it's alright. It's just that the anniversary of something that was…difficult was a couple of months ago – heh, the day I met you actually." She smiled slightly. "We – _I_ – knew it was coming, but it still hurt – quite a lot. What thy were saying just now is exactly what they used to say back before that happened, so it brought back memories that I thought I had gotten over, but I guess I hadn't..."

Sasha just looked at her for a moment. "D-Do you wanna talk about it?" Kagome just stared back at him. "I've heard it helps; thought I'd ask. But if you don't want to..." "No, it's okay," said Kagome quickly. "It'd probably help, seeing as the only other people who know the whole story are my mother, grandfather, and brother." At seeing Sasha's uncomfortable look, she added, smiling for both their sakes, "But it can wait until after we eat, 'cause I'm starving!" Sasha brightened considerably at the prospect of food and they both dug into their meals.

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After they finished, they left the restaurant and began the walk to Kagome's house. They were due to perform a scene together for their acting class soon and due to the fact that Sasha's house was a 'wreck under the illusion of being under construction,' as he put it, they were going to practice at Kagome's house. They had met either on campus or at Kagome's house all semester, actually – the construction wasn't going as quickly as Sasha had hoped.

"So…" said Sasha, not really sure how to start the conversation. Kagome took a deep breath, then started it for him. "Okay, Sasha," she said. "Well, you've been hanging around my house a lot lately, so I'm sure you've heard either my grandfather or my little brother talking about the tale of the Hanyou." Sasha cocked his head, thinking. "The one from the Sengoku Jidai? Yeah, they've told me; it's your brother's favorite. Why?"

Kagome took another deep breath as they rounded a corner. "Well," she said. "They've left one part out, at my request." Sasha looked at her as they came to a stop the bottom of the large marble staircase leading up the shrine where Kagome lived. Kagome paused at his side long enough to say two words, then started up the stairs, leaving a stunned Sasha behind.

"_It's true."_

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Sasha shook his head, as if to clear off the shock, than ran after Kagome. "Hey! Kagome, wait!" he yelled. Reaching the top of the staircase, he found her in front of the old sacred cherry tree that dominated the shrine grounds. Her schoolbag was at her feet and her hand was resting on the old scar that marred the tree's surface.

He walked up next to her, dropping his schoolbag next to hers. "Kagome, what do you mean, 'it's true'?" he asked, not sure he had heard her right. She turned to him, her countenance close to tears, yet none fell. "I mean," she said. "It's true. Everything: the hanyou, the taijya, the houshi, _all_ of the mikos, the bi-neko youkai, the kitsune kit," Here, Kagome's face broke into a watery smile. After a second, she continued. "Even that evil-with-a-name hanyou, Naraku; everything – _everyone_ – in that story is real. It happened."

Sasha looked at her, still a bit confused. "But how do you know all this?" he asked. Kagome gave a wry chuckle. "I was there," she said simply. "I was the miko who shattered the Shikon Jewel in the first place." After a moment, understanding dawned on Sasha's face. "So, the anniversary you were talking about – that was when the hanyou seemed to chose the first miko, wasn't it?" he asked softly.

"Yeah," she said, watching a leaf being blown across the ground. "I used to split my time between that era and here, but now that I think about it, it seems like many of the times I returned were because of a fight I had had with the hanyou. Unfortunately, because of the fact that when I returned I was usually ticked at him, I think I gave my friends an exaggerated idea of his behavior. Granted, I didn't tell them everything – I couldn't – but thanks to what I told them, they came to a ridiculous conclusion about him."

She paused to take a breath. "They thought that he was the wrong one for me." Sasha continued to watch her, his expression now unreadable. "What they thought may have been true," said Kagome. "After all, love is supposed to be a two-way street and he obviously didn't care about me in that way." Sasha was getting rather uncomfortable by this point, but Kagome's eyes were still trained on the ground, so she didn't notice.

"But," she continued. "I loved _him_, and leaving with the other miko is what he wanted – what he had longed for – for so long…it made him happy, and _that's_ all _I've_ ever wanted." She shrugged and shook her head, raising it to look at Sasha. "But what am I doing, dumping all this on you? Let's go inside and get some practice in before you have to leave." Not knowing what else to do, Sasha followed as Kagome turned to enter the house.

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A few minutes later, upstairs in Kagome's room, she and Sasha were testing themselves by rehearsing their scene off-book, meaning they didn't have copies of the script in their hands or pockets as a safety net.

"Tell me the truth, Thomas!" yelled Kagome, fully in character by now. "I am, Kim!" shouted back Sasha, also in character. "But you're not wanting to believe me!" 'Kim' took a step toward 'Thomas,' which caused him take a step backward in response, touching Kagome's nightstand.

Kagome's room hadn't changed much in seven years; the only differences were a fresh coat of paint and a new bedspread when she turned eighteen. Currently, Sasha, aka 'Thomas,' was backed up against Kagome's nightstand while Kagome, aka 'Kim,' was a few feet in front of him.

"I don't believe you, Thomas, because you haven't _given_ me a _reason_ to!" retorted Kagome. Sasha responded quickly; almost as if Kagome had been speaking to him as himself, and not as 'Kim' to 'Thomas.' "What reason do you want me to give? I've already told you – I haven't been cheating! You're the only girl for me!"

"Then _make me believe_, Thomas!" said Kagome, real emotion leaking into her voice, causing it to crack. "Make me believe."

The emotion Kagome had put into the last phrase hit Sasha like a physical blow and his knees buckled, knocking over the nightstand, which unfortunately had the drinks that they had brought up with them earlier. This did bring them both out of character, however.

"Oh," said Sasha, bending down to pick up their cups and other things that had fallen. "Sorry 'bout that." "Don't worry," said Kagome. "I'll go get something to clean up those spills. Be right back." Kagome left the room and Sasha set about putting everything back where it was supposed to be.

After setting the nightstand back upright, he noticed the drawer in the front had come open. He tried to push it closed, but something was blocking the way. Opening it completely to see better, he saw that the problem was a framed picture. He picked it up to move it out of the way and curiosity got the better of him. It was of a young man in centuries old clothing with such bright silver hair it was almost white. His eyes were striking – a deep, golden amber – but the most striking features he had by far were the two silver dog ears perched on the top of his head.

Fascinated by the picture, Sasha didn't hear Kagome come back in. "I'm back," she said, kneeling down beside him and placing a towel on the spilled liquid. Noticing that Sasha had something in his hand, she looked over at him. "What'cha got there?" she asked, leaning over to peer over his arm at the object. Her hair brushed the sleeve of his shirt, bringing him out of his thoughts.

"Ka-Kagome!" he spluttered, surprised to see her. He saw her looking at the photograph and could see her expression change almost instantly. "I'm sorry," he said, handing the frame back to her. "I didn't mean to pry – I was trying to close the drawer and this was blocking it and –" Kagome cut him off.

"It's okay, Sasha," she said. "Really, it's no big deal." Sasha looked down at her – her gaze was still locked on the photo. "Hey, Kagome…" Sasha's voice was hesitant. "You told me earlier that you loved him once…is that still true?" Kagome didn't release her gaze from the picture. "I think, somehow, regardless of everything he's done…I do. I really do."

Sasha took a deep breath and stood up quickly, startling Kagome. "Wha??" she said. "Let's take a break," he said, holding out his hand. Kagome reached up and took his proffered hand, pulling herself upward. "What are you talking about, Sasha?" "Just come on," he said, pulling her out of her room and down the stairs, giving her just enough time to grab her purse. "I wanna show you something."

Since Sasha's house was 'under construction' and also since he had made friends with Kagome, he had been driving to Kagome's house every morning they had class and they would walk to school together, or take his car, if the weather was bad. After leaving a note telling her mother she'd be home late, Kagome followed Sasha outside and down the large staircase. Sasha held open the passenger side door of his cherry red convertible for her, then slid across the hood and got in the driver's seat.

As they pulled away from the curb, Kagome turned to Sasha. "So, where are we going? What was it that you wanted to show me?" _Heh, same old Kagome…_thought Sasha. He answered her questions, though not to her liking. "I ain't telling ya," he said, teasing. "It wouldn't be the surprise I want it to be if I told you now, would it?" "Mou, that's not fair, Sasha…" pouted Kagome, though she was smiling.

Sasha kept driving until they were about ten miles outside of the city limits and fully surrounded in woods. Turning down a side road, he drove farther still, finally stopping about a mile off of the main road. "Are we here?" asked Kagome. "Not quite," said Sasha. Getting out, he came around the car and opened Kagome's door for her. "We gotta walk a bit – but not far, I promise." Kagome hesitated. "Walk where? Sasha..."

The boy moved aside some branches and vines behind him to reveal another road, unpaved and small enough to be considered a large, well-worn path. "Kagome, I really want to show you this, and I think you'll really enjoy it, but I don't want to force you to follow me if you don't want to. Do you trust me?" He held out his free hand, the one that wasn't holding back vegetation, to her.

Kagome didn't know quite what it was, but something told her to trust him, something deep inside. Now that she thought about it, she really did trust him – trusted him so completely – considering she'd only known him for a few months – that it scared her slightly. "Yes," she said, placing her hand in his. Sasha nodded and they started to walk down the worn path, the vines and branches previously being held back now falling back into place.

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After walking for about ten minutes or so, they came to a small clearing. Sasha stopped, causing Kagome to stop behind him. He turned to her. "I need to go and get your surprise. Can you wait here for me?" She nodded. His face lit up. "Great. But I also need you to close your eyes. I don't want you to see any part of this before I get it here." Kagome raised an eyebrow. "It'll spoil the surprise if you see it before it's in place," he insisted.

Kagome sighed and closed her eyes. Sasha raised a hand and waved it in front of her face, watching for any reaction. Satisfied she wasn't peeking, he took off, running further down the path until he reached a much larger clearing, one that held a large house. Not stopping, he rushed inside the front door of the house, heading straight for the kitchen.

When he stepped inside the room, he found its four occupants looking at him. "Well," said the larger male. "We didn't expect to see you home so soon, _Sasha_." Sasha rolled his eyes. "Never mind that. Just come on, all of you. I got something to show you," he said. The larger female looked up from the smaller female in her lap. "What is it?" she asked. "I can't tell you – it's a surprise," said Sasha, walking back towards the door. "But you're going to like it, trust me." The smaller pair of occupants got up from their respective resting places – one on the floor, the other on a _very_ comfortable lap – and led the way out of the room, following Sasha.

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Meanwhile, Kagome was still standing where Sasha had left her; eyes shut but senses on full alert. Her miko powers were on alert as well; they had not been dulled by disuse, but they hadn't grown any either. However, it was her ears that alerted her to another's presence. "Sasha? Is that you?" she said, head turning toward a rustle in the bushes to her left. "Yeah, it's me," came his voice, but it came from the right, not from where she had heard the noise.

"Sasha?" she called again. "Can I open my eyes now?" "Not yet," he called, now in front of her. She waited a few seconds, then called again. "Now?" "Alright," he said, his voice coming from right next to her. "Now." Kagome opened her eyes to see…

…nothing.

Nothing – no one – was there, other than Sasha, who was standing beside her. "Sasha?" she asked. "Just wait a second…" he said, looking at the forest directly ahead. She turned to look where he was. After a few seconds, the bushes ahead moved yet again and two colored blurs shot out of them at Kagome. She barely had time to brace herself before the auburn and cream blurs hit her in the stomach, knocking her backwards. Sasha threw out an arm to stabilize her and set her back on her feet. Kagome looked down to see two figures she thought she'd left behind four years ago. "Shippou? Kirara?"

The kitsune kit and bi-neko raised their heads. "Kagome!!!" cried the kit, hugging her around the stomach as hard as he could. The neko jumped on to her shoulder and started to nuzzle her cheek. "What are you doing here?" she said, hugging Shippou back with one arm while scratching Kirara behind an ear with the other. "We all came to see you!" said Shippou, still not letting go. Kagome furrowed her brows. "We…all?" she repeated. "Yeah," he said. He turned his head around to face the tree line. "Come on out you two!"

Kagome stared at the bushes, which rustled yet again. They parted to let two humanoid figures through; Sasha chose that moment to slip away into the bushes. "Sango? Miroku?" The one-time houshi and taijya smiled; Sango broke away from the monk to rush over and envelope her adopted sister in a bear hug, Shippou getting squished in between. After parting from Sango and giving Miroku a friendly hug, Kagome was able to speak again. "I don't believe it," she said. "How can you guys be here? I mean, it's only been four years for me, but it's got to have been…." "Five hundred and four for us," answered Miroku. "Yup, that sounds about right." Kirara had since moved to Sango's shoulder, where she now added her thoughts about that. "_Mewr_."

Sango smiled. "I know it seems a bit weird, but actually, we owe our survival through the years to Inuyasha." Kagome blinked. "Inuyasha?" she repeated. "Yep," said Miroku. "Right after you left, he took off, but a week or so later, he came back." "Only, when he did get back, something was different about him." This last came from Shippou. Kagome's eyes followed the conversation. "So, what happened?" All eyes turned to Sango. She looked at Miroku in turn. "Oh, fine," she huffed.

"Well, when Inuyasha came back," explained Sango. "Not only was he alone, but he had a spell with him – one that was supposed to put whoever was under its influence into a type of suspended sleep, a state of stasis, I guess. He asked if we would want to live under this spell and be able to see you again. Of course the four of us jumped at the chance."

"What about Kaede?" asked Kagome. Sango bowed her head slightly. "She said that although she did miss you greatly, it would be more of an effort to transfer through the years than it was worth, and I quote, 'for an old soul like her.'" She laughed sadly. "Besides, someone had to place the spell." Kagome nodded. "Please, continue." Sango nodded, cleared her throat, and continued. "Well, we gathered all the ingredients for the spell, then we realized that something was wrong." Kagome cocked her head in question.

"We realized that the spell was best made for full-blooded beings – regardless of whether they are human or youkai. But for anyone of mixed blood, it'd be…lethal," said Sango. "Inuyasha," whispered Kagome, understanding. "Yeah," Sango continued. "It would have killed him by the time we would need to be revived. He found a way around it, somehow, by going to Sesshoumaru. All we know about it is that he brought the Tetsusaiga to Sesshoumaru and Totosai; somehow they managed to raise his demon blood just enough to extend his life, but not enough to risk transforming."

"So, Inuyasha's been living through all these years…by himself?" Kagome asked her friends. They all nodded. Miroku picked up the explanation now. "That actually turned out to be a good thing," he said. "He was able to move our bodies from place to place during the more turbulent years; during the quiet years, he actually was able to gather enough information to teach it to us when we awoke four years ago." Shippou piped up now. "Yeah, Inuyasha's actually been sorta nice for a few years. He's been teaching us everything we missed for five hundred years."

"But," said Kagome, still a little confused. "Why didn't he come find me four years ago?" Shippou looked at her. "You don't know, do you?" Kagome matched his gaze. "Know what?" she said. Shippou sighed. "C'mere, Kirara," he called; the fire cat jumped down at his voice to stand beside him. The kit reached into his pocket and pulled out what looked like a normal cat collar along with a plain golden band-style ring. He leaned down to Kirara and put the collar on her before placing the band on index finger of his left hand.

There was a small flash of light and it left…just Shippou and Kirara. "Ok, what was that?" asked Kagome. "Take a good look, Kagome," said Sango. "Notice anything different about them?" asked Miroku. Kagome took a second look at the two demons. She gasped. Kirara's markings were gone, along with one of her tails. Shippou's fangs, ears, tail, and claws were gone as well.

"Shippou, Kirara," said Kagome. "Your markings…they're gone." "Yep," said Shippou. "It's a special concealing spell Inuyasha found during the five hundred years we were asleep. Once it's cast, it's tied to a ring, a necklace, a bracelet, or even a collar. All we have to do is out the spelled item on, and we will look normal enough to fit in with the rest of the world. It doesn't do anything for hair or eye color, though," he finished, tugging a slightly longer lock of his brilliant auburn hair.

"But, does that mean Inuyasha has this spell as well?" asked Kagome. "Yes, he does," answered Shippou. "Does that help explain things?" he asked. Kagome did not answer him. Her face looked like someone had pulled a mask from it; comprehension was dawning. She dazedly handed Shippou to Miroku, who was closest, then took off, running into the forest. The four companions just smiled at one another.

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Kagome kept running, eyes trained on the trees above, glancing down occasionally to make sure she didn't trip. After a few minutes, her eyes caught a glimpse of red among the prevalent darkening greens and browns. _Finally!_ she thought. She came to the base of the tree Inuyasha was sitting in. Looking up, she found him in his favorite position: one leg propped up on the branch, the other hanging down, and his gaze fixed ahead.

"Hey," she called softly. The only indication that he heard her was a twitch of an ear; he had obviously taken his concealment ring off. "Can I come up?" she asked. Inuyasha slid off the branch to land with a grace that Kagome envied every time she saw it. Without a word, he wrapped an arm around her waist and jumped back onto his branch. Still keeping her voice soft, Kagome asked him another question. "What happened?"

"You mean after you left?" said Inuyasha, speaking as himself for the first time. Kagome nodded, knowing he could see her even in the fading sunlight. "Keh…I…Kikyou and I left to travel to another village. But I didn't have to spend more than three days with her to understand what an idiot I had been. I turned around and left, coming right back to the Kaede's village."

Kagome nodded after he had finished; it seemed as if he had finally come to his senses, but…. "Where did you get the spell? The stasis spell?" He bowed his head further, letting his bangs fall and cover his eyes. "Kikyou. She handed it to me just before I left. It makes sense that _she_ would give me something that would be lethal to a half-blood," he finished with a self-depreciating laugh. Kagome's heart and mind softened even more.

"Just one more question. If you and the others have been here for four years," she asked. "Why didn't you come find me?" Inuyasha didn't answer immediately. "Inuyasha?" "I guess I was afraid. Afraid that you'd be too pissed at me to want to see me, let alone even try to pick up where we left off. Keh," he said. "Wherever the hell that was." Kagome reached over and put her hand on top of his where it rested on his thigh. He looked up at her.

"Inuyasha…" was all she could say. The only thing she think of to do was to sing and so she did, raising her voice in a clear alto pitch, tentative at first, then gaining strength.

"_Once a lass met a lad_

'_You're a gentle one,' said she,"_

Inuyasha heard the words she was saying and recognized them. It was a duet she had modified into a lullaby for Shippou after he had heard it played on her magic music maker and fell in love with it. It became his favorite and Kagome had sung him to sleep with its melody nearly every night. But the words themselves…they had a different meaning entirely….

"_In my heart, I'd be glad,_

_If you loved me for me."_

He knew from sneaking the music maker out of Kagome's bag at night when she was asleep that the girl's beginning part of the duet was nearly over – soon the guy would join. He had an idea of what Kagome was trying to do, but he wasn't quite sure if he was ready to….

"_You say your love is true_

_And I hope that it will be."_

_Oh, f the doubts. I'm ready…more than ready._

"**I'd be sure if I knew**

**That you loved me for me."**

Kagome had started to sing with the small idea of maybe getting Inuyasha to respond, but she was surprised when Inuyasha began to sing. The mere fact that he knew the words was surprising enough – he had never seemed to pay attention when she was singing – but his pure baritone was not was she had expected.

_Could I be the one you're seeking?_

_Will I be the one you choose?_

_Can you tell my heart is speaking?_

_My eyes will give you clues_

**What you see may be deceiving**

**Truth lies underneath the skin**

_Hope will blossom by believing_

_**The heart that lies within**_

**I'll be yours**

**Together, we shall always be as one**

**If you love me for me**

_Who can say where we'll go_

**I'll be yours**

_Who can promise what will be_

**Together, we shall always be as one**

_But I'll stay by your side_

_**If you love me for me**_

_**If you love me for me**_

They stopped singing, their gazes locked on each other. No words were needed, as Inuyasha pulled Kagome toward him – his arm hadn't left her waist. Eyes closed and, in a moment straight out a romance movie, their lips met and the rest of the world faded away.

Unfortunately, the need for air was something that _didn't_ fade away, and all too soon, they had to part. "Wow," said Kagome, resting her forehead against Inuyasha's. "Yeah," he said, panting slightly along with her. "So, now what?" she asked. Inuyasha pulled back just a bit to be able too look at her completely. "Kagome, I know I've been a royal ass to you, but I would like to be able to make it up to you. Maybe…someday, you could consider staying by my side as something more, I don't know. But I want to try to, I don't know…."

Kagome just sat there patiently, waiting for Inuyasha to get his thoughts together. Experience had taught her that rushing him only caused him more anxiety. Inuyasha, meanwhile, had finally remembered something his mother – and possibly Myouga – had told him about the process of winning a girl's heart.

"Kagome," he started, still unsure of how she was going to react. "May I have your permission to…um, court you?" Kagome blinked, then grinned. From the way he was leading up to it, the question was starting to sound much more…something than it turned out to be. "Of course," she said. Turning slightly and leaning back, she snuggled against his chest as he put his arms around her.

Tomorrow may hold still more unknown adventures, but as long as they were together and had their friends alongside, nothing close stop them.

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_**So, what'd ya think? **_

**_If you couldn't tell, 'Thomas' and 'Kim' are pulled from "Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers" and the line 'make me believe' was inspired by Martina McBride's song "Make Me Believe" from her cd "Emotion." Also, the line "Do you trust me?" and the whole "Close your eyes" thing are from the Disney movies "Aladdin" and "Beauty and the Beast," respectively. I do not own any of those entities. If you don't recognize the eyes thing, re-watch the Beauty and the Beast movie and pay close attention the library scene. That's how the Beast surprises Belle with the library._**

_**A 'magic music maker' is, essentially, a cd player. But I thought that would be a cute name for Shippou to call it…. And the song is 'If You Love Me for Me' from Barbie in The Princess and the Pauper. The Barbie movies are actually surprisingly good. I have all of them (I use them when I babysit my cousin – she's almost four and just recently got into a Barbie movie kick…probably courtesy of yours truly….). And to decipher the lyrics – **Kagome _**Inuyasha _Both. That help?_**

**_Also, for pronunciation purposes, the 'y' in 'Uniy' is silent. And I put his name in the surname-first format. Oh, and as to where he got the second 's' from for his 'new' name (because the rest of his name is merely a remix of the letters in 'Inuyasha') – I like to say he stole it from Sesshy…after all, the guy has three in just his given name…. evil grin_**

**_I have an idea for their acting scene if you would like to see the full thing, so if you do, just let me know in a review. And hanyo2miko and Kiterie were two reviewers to _Inuyasha's Decision_ that got me inspired to write this. Hope you enjoyed it!_**

_**Trekker**_


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